[CHAPTER IV. FROM THE BIRTH OF MOSES TO THE DEATH OF JOSHUA]
THIS chapter will put beyond dispute all connection between the Jehovah of Moses and the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe. Whoever drew the picture of Jehovah, as it is recorded in the Bible, made him, in every sense of the word, a mere man; and put him under the same necessity of re-sorting to means for obtaining information, when the subject of inquiry is involved in doubt. For instance: Jehovah informs Abram that the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were reported to be wicked in the extreme; and that he (the Lord) came down to get information on that subject. Again, when the builders of Babel were about to commence their lofty tower, the Lord came down to see what they were doing; and, not being pleased with their intentions, put a stop to the work, and performed a miracle, whereby they were driven abroad on the face of the earth. Besides, the Lord’s coming from a certain place to another place for information, implies that, without such movement, the information sought for could not be obtained. These instances, and hundreds of others of the same kind, imply also that the Jewish God had a local habitation. Again, to say that the Lord came to a place, staid there, and then returned back again,—these are movements which are common with men, but cannot be applied to the omnipresent God. The free access that Moses and the Old Testament prophets had to their God will warrant the idea that he resided next door to them, and that the Lord was obedient to their every call.
The children of Israel, after the death of Joseph, began to multiply so fast that the Egyptians feared for their own safety in the event of a war with other nations; and in consequence, ordered the mid wives to destroy all the male children, but to save the females alive. But Moses was saved, according to the Bible, in consequence of Pharaoh’s daughter discovering him in the river; and when he came to maturity, the Lord selected him to go to Egypt to demand of Pharaoh, the king, to let the Israelites go out from that state of bondage in which, for four hundred years, they had been held.
The departure of Moses from Egypt was not very honorable for a future ambassador; for before his departure he murdered a man, and buried him. To escape justice, he then fled to Midian, and became acquainted with a pagan priest, who took him into his house, and ultimately gave him one of his daughters in marriage, and he became his father-in-law’s shepherd; and the Lord made himself known to Moses. It was while tending the flocks that he was chosen go to Egypt to demand the release of his brethren, then in cruel bondage. After the Lord had given him his instructions, and, to all appearance, Moses had started on his mission, a remarkable circumstance took place, that must puzzle Bible commentators to explain. It is recorded in Exodus iv., 24, “And it came to pass, by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him and sought to kill him.” This meeting appears to have been accidental, for no mention is made of the business of either of them. Here, again, we observe that the writer, whoever he was, has spoken of the Lord as a man. It is not possible for men of sound understandings to conceive of the reality of the Lord’s meeting Moses at an inn, if by the Lord, We understand the Almighty Power that governs all Worlds.
On the account as it stands recorded, and as Christians take it as really having happened, the following remarks may reasonably be made, namely: that after Moses had been ordered to proceed to Egypt on his important mission, he loitered his time away in a tavern; and that the Lord surprised him in that place, and showed anger for his contempt of orders, given to and accepted by him. But the cause of a meeting so extraordinary, it is difficult to unravel. It is easily conceived why Moses might visit a tavern; but that the Lord of heaven and earth should follow a creature into a pot-house, and show signs of anger, and a quarrel should be the result, is very hard to believe; for it said, the “Lord sought to kill him.” Again, if the Lord sought to kill him, it must be in appearance only, for he could have done it. However, Moses started off.
The account warrants us in supposing, that Moses had staid in the inn long enough for his wife to overtake him, and to upbraid him with neglect. Something is said about his son’s being uncircumcised; and taking a sharp stone, she performed that operation with a very clumsy instrument; after which, she exclaimed, in an angry tone, “A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision;” as if she meant to say—“Shame on you! to leave it to me to do that which is so revolting to my feelings!” Moses then departed for Egypt, and obeyed the Lord in his journey to his brethren.
We can discover neither justice nor humanity in the course that was taken by the God of Israel, in bringing the Jews out of bondage. On the contrary, the greatest inhumanity and injustice are discoverable in every movement that Moses made under the authority of the Lord; which fully proves, that Infinite Wisdom and Goodness had nothing to do in the mighty fuss of liberating the seed of Abram from bondage. The plagues that were inflicted on the inhabitants of Egypt, if true, make the conduct of Jehovah more vindictive than any thing we have heard of as proceeding from the Devil himself for the Lord had told Moses beforehand, that he had hardened Pharaoh's heart that the people might know the power of the Hebrew God to afflict the nation. It might have been sport to the man made God of Moses, but not very pleasant and comfortable to the Egyptians, to be lousy, to be stunk to death with putrid carcasses, having frogs for bed-mates, when the Lord had hardened the King's heart. But the worst and most infamous of all the judgments, was the destruction of the first-born. This act would have disgraced the very devil: to institute the Feast of the Passover.
We may indulge in a little mirth in reference to the destroying angel going round the streets, finding out the doors marked with the blood of your paschal lamb, and taking care not to wring the neck of a little Hebrew. Wonder if the destroying angel had a lantern? But, perhaps, he had cat’s eyes, and could see as well by night as at noon-day! No wonder, ye Jews, that the inhabitants of Egypt so willingly gave you their gold and silver ornaments to get rid of a people so detestable, and, with them, a more detestable God.
In a short time after the Jews had left the house of bondage, they began to upbraid Moses that they had changed for the worse; and in the course of their journeying, they quarrelled with him, and the Lord had continually to interfere, and to feed them by miracles. At Mount Sinai, Moses halted; and, according to the command of the Lord, the law was given to the nation, as recorded in Exodus, chapter xx. And this boasted law is said to have been given by the Lord, in the hearing of all the Children of Israel. The first commandment contains a spirit of intolerance, which, whether he gave it or not, has never failed to generate in Jews and Christians a spirit of religious persecution which has deluged the earth with blood.
The ten commandments, given by Moses to the Children of Israel, contain, in general, good moral precepts, with the exception of the first. The first begins by the Lord’s speaking in a language which all the people could understand:—“I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.” This command, which by both Jews and Christians is considered so just and reasonable, contains in it the germ of intolerance. Had this command been given immediately after the recorded fall of Adam, its influence would have had a very different bearing on the peace and happiness of society, than it had at the time, and has had ever since it was given. It would have been both just and right in the Lord of all to demand of his creatures to worship him, and him alone, in the way and manner he saw fit; since in that case, no evil consequences could have followed from a command so just and proper, as for the creature to obey his Creator.